The LSU Tigers forward doubles down after she ignites debate with her gestures to taunt Iowa Hawkeyes' Caitlin following Tigers' first national title in school history.
- Apr 3, 2023
AceShowbiz - LSU's Angel Reese has spoken up after her gestures at the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament championship game became a viral moment, not entirely for the right reason. The college basketball player sparked backlash after she taunted Iowa Hawkeyes' Caitlin Clark after LSU Tigers led the game.
During the game at American Airlines Center on Sunday, April 2 in Dallas, LSU defeated Iowa 102-85. It gave the team their first win in the women's basketball national championship. As LSU put Iowa away in the fourth quarter, Angel pointed to her finger, signifying that it was her turn to get that championship ring. She also hit Caitlin with the John Cena "you can't see me" taunt as she walked past the Iowa point guard.
To be fair, Caitlin started it first as she had made the taunt in Iowa's Elite Eight win when she had a 40-point triple-double. Still, Angel's gestures sparked a debate, making "No Class" one of trending topics on Twitter.
"What a classless move by Angel Reese. Doing WAY too much to taunt Clark," one critic said of Angel's acts. Another slammed the 20-year-old athlete, "This is classless. Angel Reese is only 20, so she's still young, but taunting Caitlin Clark like this shows a pure lack of class. Win with class, lose with class, play with class. Clark's mom and dad can be proud that her daughter ignored the taunting. They raised her right."
Others came to Angel's defense, with one pointing out, "Yeah so one thing we're not gonna do is call this move 'classless' when Reese does it and celebrate it when Clark does it." Another argued, "Was it classless when Clarke did it or… does she get a pass." Someone else similarly said, "Was it classless when Caitlin Clark did it ? gTFOH with that."
Angel herself admitted that it was a trick that was up her sleeve heading into the national championship. "I was waiting, when I tell you I was waiting, I was waiting," she said after the game.
Explaining the reason behind the taunting celebratory act, she said, "Caitlin Clark is a hell of a player for sure, but I don't take disrespect lightly. And she disrespected Alexis (Morris) and my girls, South Carolina they're still my SEC girls too, but y'all gonna disrespect them either."
Angel also took to social media to defend her moves. Hitting back at a critic, she wrote, "IDC BOUT NUN." She added in another tweet, "I LOVE BEING A BLACK QUEEN. And no I'M NOT KEEPING IT CUTE."
